Taking a Breather

Not from writing, but from some of the other stuff.

As you all know I was to have a book signing yesterday at B&N, which I had canceled. So glad I did.
I now will be talking to a local grocery store manager about having one in his store. I didn't approach him, but friends of mine did, which surprised me. I had intended to talk to him about it, but never found the time, or he wasn't around for me to breach the subject. But now I've got an appointment to go and meet with him this week! So exciting!

Last weekend I posted about choosing a title for my next book.  A number of you swung by and made your comments and suggestions and I thank you for that. I was surprised I had so many of you stop by here on the blog, and also at one the facebook groups I belong to, as well. I want to have an official vote on the titles suggested to me soon. We'll see how this goes. Hopefully more people will vote for their favorite one. I still intend on giving the one person who's title wins a free book (either ebook or book), if their suggestion wins.

I'm also amazed when I go to one of my facebook sites (usually it's the Lorelei Bell one), and someone new has come and liked it. I've had 5 just this week and I believe all were people who had read my book, because I don't know any of them. One lady said she "loved" my books and is looking forward to the third one. She inspired me to get back to work on the third book. (I had been working steadily in the fourth book but, hey, that one is at least a year away from being ready.) I was taking a break from the third book so as to approach it with fresh eyes and to find some repetitions, lines that weren't working and so forth. This may not be my final edit. It may take one or two more before I'm ready to send it to my publisher.

This morning, I slept in. Very nice to do that. My husband woke me up, kissed me on the head and said he didn't want to have coffee without me. (Awwww).

So, I'm signing off for now. Hope all is going well with you guys out there too!

What's In A Name...

Or title? How many of you labor over a title for your books? Sometimes it's hard, isn't it?

Yeah, I'm debating on the title for the third book. It has changed from one thing to another. You know how you have to slap a title on your WIP, and you stick with it up until the moment you are just about ready to give it to the world (or your publisher).

I have the title "Beyond the Black Veil" on this third instalment. However, I've seen a title out there called "The Black Veil" and I don't want to have it so closely related to someone else's title, esp. if it's another vampire novel. It's almost impossible to find a different title now a days, but you always try.

The title came to me because of what happens in the book--Sabrina goes Beyond the Black Veil when she steps through a portal and is in a totally different world and the explanation is that they are beyond the black veil, which is also the networking of black holes into which a person travels in order to go from one world to the next. She is able to go between worlds, because she is the sibyl, but other humans aren't able to escape. Vampire's also are stuck there.

Okay. Sure that works. But I'm still not crazy about the title because there might be something better.
Here are some ideas to ponder:

I have creatures called Dreadfuls which are part of the main plot. I'm trying to think up a way of incorporating their name into a title. These Dreadfuls are not ghosts, but Sabrina slowly realizes they are similar to demons. They cause sickness in humans, and within weeks they die terribly. When her Dagger of Delphi kills one it has no physical body, but disintegrates. She suddenly is in demand to rid their world of these Dreadfuls because there are only so many humans, and their are dying.

Vlad Drakulya is also in this story, and even though he has a role in the book, it isn't really about him, either. But I sort of like the idea of using his name in the title, but then again so many titles out there with "Dracula" in it.

The Plot Idea:
Sabrina is trying to locate her missing cousin in this third instalment, and has by chance come across a portal which opens up briefly and snatches humans to this world where vampires rule. These humans become their Blood Dames/Doms, and also serve to reproduce other humans or also can pro-create with the vampires. They are also stuck in the late 1800's. I wanted to mix things up a bit, have Sabrina in another world during nearly the entire book, and this book was born a few years ago. She becomes romantically involved with Drakulya's son, Jett who is engaged to Princess Penelope. Jett happens to be a psychic vampire who feeds on... sex.

If anyone has ideas, leave a comment, and if I use your idea you will receive the third book free with your title as a thank you--when it comes out, of course. So, maybe that is enough incentive. Even if your suggestion is changed slightly and I use it, I will still give you a free book. How does that sound? Any of you need further information, let me know. I have been placing scenes up once in a while at Lorelei's Muse. I'll probably be doing teasers from it now and then this spring, so be looking for them.

Thanks in advance!